The woman said, "It's not far. We can ride a horse and be back in the time it takes to skin a sheep." That was meaningless. Who knew how fast the horse was, or how long it would take to skin a sheep?
I then asked, "Is it easy for you to see him normally?"
The woman said, "It's not difficult. He usually doesn't refuse gifts from guests from afar. The Khan is someone who really enjoys learning about the world beyond the grasslands."
Hmm, this shows he's already harboring ambitions for foreign invasion, though he hasn't yet proclaimed himself Genghis Khan. While the woman wasn't looking, I slipped a blue pill into the bowl. Since this wine was intended as a tribute to their most revered leader, no one would dare steal it, but whether something unexpected might happen was another matter. As far as I know, emperors of his rank have dedicated personnel to test for poison.
The man led the horse outside the tent, came in, picked up the wine bowl, and left. I asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to find a jar or bottle to put it in?" What if it spills?
The man smiled slightly, carried the bowl outside, leaped onto his horse, and sped away at a steady 65 miles per hour. The bowl, meanwhile, remained motionless in the night, seemingly floating in mid-air. Mongolians ride horses more steadily than we ride maglev trains.
About the time it takes to smoke two cigarettes (equivalent to the time a woman would say to skin a sheep), the sound of galloping hooves echoed outside the tent. I peeked through a crack and saw dozens of well-dressed Mongol cavalrymen, led by a man, arriving at the door. They dismounted, some placing their hands on their scimitars. I thought anxiously: Had the plot been exposed? Had the man who tested Genghis Khan's poison, after drinking my wine, started rambling incoherently about Genghis Khan's merits and demerits influencing later generations, so they sent men to settle scores with me?
While I was lost in thought, the tent was suddenly flung open by a Mongol chieftain with many scars on his forehead. He stood there, his face stern, and shouted, "The Khan said, the person who offered him the wine..."
My heart is sinking like a hole-ridden soda can being thrown into water; things are not going to get bad!
Unexpectedly, the leader couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing, "It's his best brother, Xiao Qiang. If you haven't gone to see him by the time he's bent his tenth finger, then we'll fill your belly with the best mare's milk wine."
Chapter 152 8 Million
An old African man did a high jump—it scared the hell out of me! That guy was so mean, he scared me half to death.
The Mongol general grabbed my hand and laughed, "Don't blame me, it was the Great Khan who told me to say that."
I wiped my sweat and said, "Not at all, brother, what is your surname?"
The leader laughed and said, "We Mongols don't have surnames. My name is Muqali."
Muqali? One of Genghis Khan's four most famous generals!
Mu Huali pulled me along and said, "Let's go, Xiao Qiang, Da Han said he misses you terribly."
The man who had hosted me said in surprise, "I didn't expect you to be such a distinguished guest of the Great Khan. If I had known, I would have taken you there directly."
I was able to make contact with Genghis Khan, and he deserves great credit for that. I said, "I have to thank you for that."
Muqali said to the man, "Hasir, the Khan says you have done a great service and will reward you with 50 cattle and 100 sheep." It turns out that my savior was named Hasir.
Hasir humbly replied, "It is my duty to entertain guests from afar, and I cannot accept the Khan's reward."
I said, "Take it if you want it. I would have been fed to the wolves long ago if it weren't for you." Hasier just smiled and didn't say anything.
Muqali probably anticipated this situation and said to me, "Then let's deposit the reward with the Khan for now. Hasir is also a well-known warrior. It won't be difficult for him to seize more cattle and sheep from the enemy in the future."
Hasir happily said, "I accept this reward." It turned out that Genghis Khan meant that Hasir could keep all the spoils he plundered in battle. For a brave Mongol warrior, this was tantamount to exchanging a bag of grain for a seed. Hasir would soon become a nobleman.
We went outside, mounted the prepared horses, bid farewell to Hasir's family, and followed Muqali to see Genghis Khan.
As we traveled along, the number of yurts gradually increased, and we slowly arrived at the most densely populated area. The Mongols along the way bowed respectfully to our caravan, and Muqali patiently returned the bows. Aside from his easygoing nature, it was clear that the Mongols at this time did not yet have a strict class system. Of course, the lowest-ranking slaves were excluded…
Soon, Genghis Khan's golden-domed tent came into view. However, it was merely large; it paled in comparison to Wuzhu's tent. Outside, lights blazed, and countless herdsmen had set up grills and brought out barrels of mare's milk wine. I asked curiously, "What are they doing?"
Muqali laughed and said, "To celebrate your arrival, the Great Khan will be hosting a bonfire party tonight."
As the cavalry returned, a burly Mongolian man with narrow eyes and a felt hat emerged with a beaming smile—it was Genghis Khan. I jumped off the horse, took his hand, and exclaimed joyfully, "Brother!"
Genghis Khan smiled meaningfully and said, "Thank God for letting you awaken my dormant memories and return many lost friends and family to me. From now on, the grassland will no longer be lonely."
Recalling my near-death experience, I said with lingering fear, "I wasn't lonely to begin with, there were just too many wolves!"
Genghis Khan laughed heartily and loudly addressed the surroundings: "You must keep a close eye on the man in front of me. Don't worry about who he is; just know that he is my best brother. I hereby declare that whoever knocks him to the ground in a moment will receive 200 slaves."
I said with a mournful face, "No way, it's easy to take me down. No matter how many slaves you have, it won't be enough to compensate." Theoretically, everyone here could use Mongolian tripping techniques to make me lie down forever.
Genghis Khan added with a smile, "Only fine mare's milk wine is permitted."
Immediately, everyone cheered loudly, and dozens of burly men with waists around 2 feet 9 inches long glared at me with wine bowls in hand.
On the grassland, Mongolian men and women gathered around a campfire, eating meat and drinking wine. Someone sang a desolate yet heroic Mongolian long song, while a long line of people waited to toast me. It wasn't because of the 200 slaves; hospitality was one aspect, the Great Khan's instructions were another, but most importantly, they wanted to see just how much I could drink.
Fortunately, I'd spent a lot of time with the Liangshan bandits and was somewhat of a seasoned drinker, plus I hadn't eaten enough at Hasier's house, so I ate large chunks of meat and drank large bowls of wine. At first, I accepted everyone's offer, living a truly heroic life. But later, I couldn't keep up. Exhausted from the day, I could only manage five or six bowls before I was done. But if you drank with one person, you couldn't refuse another. And these were all men you couldn't afford to offend; Genghis Khan's four fierce warriors and four mighty heroes were among them. Seeing that I couldn't get anything serious done today anyway, I decided to drink freely. Eventually, I lost track of who was saying or doing anything. I vaguely saw people wrestling and playing on the grass, but perhaps because of the angle, I couldn't distinguish between those who were on the ground and those who were standing…
The next day, I opened my eyes to find the sun shining brightly outside. I was sleeping in a large yurt. Outside, people had already returned to normal and started their busy day. I wondered who got the 200 slaves last night. I finished a large bowl of milk tea beside me, lifted the curtain, and went out. Many people greeted me with smiles: "Xiao Qiang, you're up?" Others said: "*--……%￥-- (Mongolian)".
I smiled and nodded to each person, then asked one of the Chinese speakers, "Where is the Khan?"
The man pointed to the Khan's tent: "The Khan is talking with the Four Fierce Generals and Four Heroes."
Without any ceremony, I went straight in. I saw Genghis Khan sitting in the main tent, flanked by the Four Mighty Warriors and Four Heroes, as well as several other generals whose names I couldn't recall from the previous night's drinking session. When Genghis Khan saw me, he laughed and said, "Xiao Qiang, your drinking capacity has improved. You weren't this good when you were drinking with me back then."
Seeing that one day of the three-day period had already passed, I hurriedly went up to him, grabbed his hand, and said, "Brother, I've come to borrow troops from you."
Genghis Khan smiled and said, "I knew you wouldn't come looking for me if there was nothing wrong—how much do you need? What for?"
I said, "500,000!"
The generals inside the tent all gasped and whispered among themselves.
Genghis Khan smiled without changing his expression and said, "The total number of Mongols now doesn't even reach 500,000."
Judging from everyone's expressions, I knew he was probably telling the truth, so I asked, "How many are there?"
Genghis Khan said, "It's hard to say how many. We haven't launched a large-scale war yet, so I haven't tried to gather a total number of people."
I held up three fingers and said, "You must have at least 300,000, right?"